


Not That Bad

by queen_scribbles



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sagani is captain of the good ship Taviloth, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 01:07:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11726334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: Second prompt fill for PoE ficwap, from haledamage, reusing the ‘Tavi and Aloth have to share a bed for REASONS” prompt bc I wanted to do it justice. It was harder to figure out the set up than I expected, because the usual ‘two people/one bed’ trope wouldn’t work. Tavi’s far too willing to sleep on the floor. (the ending could be better, but I’ve been trying to tweak it for an hour, and I’m just... done.)





	Not That Bad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [haledamage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/haledamage/gifts).



> Second prompt fill for PoE ficwap, from haledamage, reusing the ‘Tavi and Aloth have to share a bed for REASONS” prompt bc I wanted to do it justice. It was harder to figure out the set up than I expected, because the usual ‘two people/one bed’ trope wouldn’t work. Tavi’s far too willing to sleep on the floor. (the ending could be better, but I’ve been trying to tweak it for an hour, and I’m just... done.)

 

It had been a long day, Tavi acknowledged to herself as she focused on getting her aching and exhausted legs to carry her up the steps toward the room they'd rented in the Gréf's Rest. And while long days were hardly rare, fending off an ogre attack and dragging a woman from a burning building had certainly made this one _unique_. Right now, however, the uniqueness wasn't her concern; how exhausting it had been was.  
  
 _I might actually sleep tonight,_ she thought, with an almost perverse amount of glee, as she found the correct door and slid the key into the lock. _I don't think even Watcher dreams could keep me-  
_  
The door swung open. _-awake._  
  
Haeferic had forgotten to mention something when he promised her "the biggest room in the inn" --it only had four beds. Tavi froze in the doorway as that fact registered, which meant Hiravias and Aloth both almost walked into her.  
  
"What's wr-" Aloth cut himself off as a glance over Tavi's shoulder answered his question. "Ah."  
  
"Yeah, ' _Ah_ '," Tavi sighed, stepping into the room and to the side so the others could enter. "I may not be a scholar, but six adventurers an' four beds... ain't hard to see how that ends."  
  
"With us on the floor," Sagani volunteered, gesturing for Itumaak to follow as she headed for the rug in front of the hearth. "We've made do with worse." She shrugged gamely. "Least in here it's warm."  
  
"Well, that still leaves five people and only four beds," Tavi muttered, rubbing her forehead. She just wanted to _sleep_ , godsdammit, but here she stood; hair reeking of smoke and her armor of worse, trying to solve a logic puzzle she definitely hadn't asked for-  
  
"Why don't you two just share?" Sagani suggested, grinning slyly as she picked burrs out of Itumaak's coat.  
  
"Who share?" Tavi retorted, and almost instantly regretted it as seven eyes--and one eyepatch of Wael--slanted toward her and Aloth.  
  
"Pallegina and Hiravias," Sagani deadpanned, still grinning. "Who do you think?"  
  
"I-" _Can't say I'm opposed to the idea_ , her brain filled in (un)helpfully. She turned to Aloth. "Are you alright-"  
  
"Would you mind-" he started at the same time. They both cut themselves off when they realized the other was speaking, prompting Sagani's grin to widen.  
  
"C'mon, Tav, it makes sense," she cajoled, expression shifting faux-innocent as she ticked off her points. "The bed's definitely big enough for two, you an' Aloth are obviously close enough-"  
  
"I'm right _here,_ " Aloth muttered pointedly.  
  
"Am I **_wrong_**?" Sagani asked even more pointedly, raising her eyebrows as her gaze shifted between the two elves.  
  
"No..." both Tavi and Aloth conceded after an awkward second's silence, while the others all pretended to be ignoring them as they chose beds and unslung their packs.  
  
"Well, then," Sagani shrugged and gave her full attention to plucking burrs and chunks of ice from Itumaak's coat. Tavi and Aloth traded a look of optimistic skepticism.  
  
"Is... that alright with you, city slicker?" she asked, fighting the urge to nervously fiddle with her hair or the buckles on her armor.  
  
Aloth hesitated for the barest fraction of a second before nodding. "If you're alright with it, so am I."  
  
Are you sure?" Tavi pressed, having caught the hesitation. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I can sleep on the floor, too. There's plenty of room-"  
  
"No," he cut her off. "I'm sure. You have enough trouble falling asleep as it is, I'm not going to ask you to do that. I just want to be sure this is something _you're_ comfortable with."  
  
She chuckled. "Shit, Corfiser, it's not like we're actually, y'know,  _ **Sleeping Together,**_ just sharing a bed. What's there to be uncomfortable about?"  
  
Aloth gave her a curious look, and Tavi immediately started doubting how well her bravado had hidden the very real butterflies in her stomach. "As I said, if it's alright with you, it's alright with me."  
  
"Well, then." Tavi circled to one side of the bed and sat down, dropping her pack and pulling off her boots. "That's settled."  
  
"I suppose it is." Aloth sat almost gingerly on the other side of the bed.  
  
It didn't take long to shuck their armor and other gear, and the two of them settled in to sleep, shoulders barely brushing. Tavi still instinctively shifted half an inch away before rolling on her side. It was her preferred sleeping position, since it worked best for pretending to be asleep in the event of an ambush. Old habits died hard, she reflected as she stared at the wall. She hadn't had to worry about being ambushed in months.  
  
Behind her, Tavi could hear Aloth shifting in search of a comfortable position, and wondered if his feelings about this development were in anyway similar to her own. Namely, giddy nerves, not wanting to make things uncomfortable, but a small pulse of warmth wriggling through her gut that had liked the idea the moment Sagani brought it up. But it wasn't long before Aloth stilled and soon after his breathing settled in to the slow, steady cadence of sleep. Tavi yawned, took a moment to appreciate the irony of being the last to fall  asleep when she was the most exhausted, and drifted off herself.  
  
>><><<  
  
The dreams hit hard and they hit fast. One minute, her prediction had proven correct, and the exhaustion had brought with it the thick cover of dreamless sleep. The next Tavi felt like she was shaking as if hit by lightning.   
  
_Standing on a cliff, drenched by rain, rock clutched in her hand as she waited for the body at her feet to show signs of life.  
  
A blink and it was gone, replaced by the vision of an elven woman, stretched on a rack and clearly in pain.   
  
Another beat and she was staring through the blood-hazed eyes of a mother orlan protecting her young children from some threat just beyond her field of vision.   
  
Back to the elven woman, her back arched and chest heaving as she screamed in agony. Vague, hooded figures stepped forward and reached for the levers. The elven woman locked eyes with her and when the figures tightened the rack another notch, Tavi felt the agony in her own limbs; as if every joint was being pulled from its socket. The world went white-_  
  
>><><<  
  
-and she bolted awake, breathing hard, pain lingering in her wrists and elbows. _It's just a dream._ Tavi swore under her breath and ran a shaking hand through her hair. _That's all._  
  
The covers rustled and there was a mumbled "Wha's wrong?" beside her as Aloth blinked his way awake.  
  
Tavi immediately felt guilty. "Sorry. The dreams. They... they were really vivid tonight." She looked down at the hem of her shirt, bunching the fabric in her hand and then smoothing it out. "Didn't mean to wake you."  
  
"It's fine," he said around a yawn. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Tavi promised, the words only sounding slightly hollow. She pushed down the covers and started to slide from the bed. "Maybe I _should_ sleep on the floo-"  
  
"No." Aloth leaned over and grabbed her wrist, halting her movement. "It's alright, Tavi."  
  
"But I'll prob'ly wake you up again."  
  
He shrugged. "I learned years ago that I don't need much sleep to function. If you wake me, you wake me. At least you won't be dealing with this alone."  
  
"Aloth..." She hesitated.  
  
"Please. Stay." His thumb lightly rubbed the inside of her wrist, probably feeling her jittery pulse. "You're not inconveniencing me or making me uncomfortable or anything like that, if that's your concern. I would... very much like it if you stayed. However," he let go of her wrist. "If you would be more comfortable on the floor, by all means, don't let me stop you."  
  
Tavi smiled and quickly slid back under the covers, nestling into a good position. "Please. You couldn't stop me if you wanted to, city slicker."  
  
Aloth chuckled quietly, his hand sliding toward her until his fingers brushed hers. "We can test that theory, if you wish."  
  
Tavi smirked into the darkness and whispered, "Nah, I'm good." as she deliberately brushed her fingers against his in response.  
  
>><><<  
  
Wakefulness was--for once in her life--slow in coming. Tavi lazily blinked her way to consciousness, feeling drowsy and well-rested, cradled in the warmth of the pelts and blanket that covered the bed.  
  
As well as the warmth of another body snuggled against hers. For one muzzy, half-awake moment, she was a kid again. Piled in one bed with her brothers because the house was too small and winters were cold. But only for a moment. The smell of bacon and something else elusive but delicious tickled her senses, and Tavi pulled herself fully awake. 

The rough-hewn walls of the Gréf's Rest greeted her. She yawned and scrubbed sleep from her eyes with the heel of one hand. Of course it had just been a memory. She wasn't a kid anymore, she had the scars to prove it. Which meant that wasn't Khellin or one of the others next to her. Full recollection flooded in and it took an actual, physical effort not to bolt upright and instead simply take stock.

  
Aloth had rolled over at some point and curled up against her back, one arm wrapped loosely around her midriff.  Tavi smiled to herself and lightly ran her fingers up and down the length of his forearm, occasionally pausing to trace circles around his knuckles before resuming.  
  
 _Okay_ , she admitted silently, _I'm not a touchy feely person most of the time, but I gotta admit this is nice._  
  
Her next pass up Aloth's arm slipped past his elbow, brushing the skin just beyond it, and he twitched, making a small noise that was almost a laugh in his sleep. Tavi grinned giddily--silently thanking the gods no one else was awake yet--and more deliberately ran her fingers over the spot again. This time Aloth mumbled something, his breath warm against her neck, as his arm jerked away. The cadence of his breathing changed, and Tavi felt him shift and stretch as he woke.  
  
"Ticklish, huh?" she teased in a whisper. "Surprised I hadn't figured that out yet."  
  
Aloth shook his head. "Not ticklish, jus' sensitive."  
  
Tavi almost giggled at how adorably sleepy he sounded. "That so?"  
  
"Mm-hm." His breath caught as their position sank in and he started to roll away.  
  
She stopped him with a gentle hand on his wrist. "You're fine, Corfiser."  
  
Aloth only relaxed fractionally. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Mm-hm." Tavi rubbed her thumb against the heel of his hand. "I mean, if _you're_ not comfortable, go right ahead. But you aren't makin' _me_ uncomfortable. It's actually kinda nice."  
  
"It is, isn't it?" he said softly as he settled back in. "Your hair still smells like smoke."  
  
"Sorry. I had no idea you were such a cuddler, city slicker," she teased in an undertone as she rolled over so she was facing him.   
  
"You're just learning all kinds of new things this morning, aren't you?" he fired back, smile tugging at his lips.  
  
"Heh, guess I am." Tavi wrinkled her nose. "This sharin' a bed idea turned out not that bad after all."  
  
"I'm gonna remember you said that," Sagani piped up from somewhere behind her, and Tavi groaned as she glanced over her shoulder at the dwarf, who was, of course, grinning. "And sweet Galawain, you two are adorable."  
  
The moment effectively ruined, Tavi sat up and chucked her pillow at Sagani. "No one asked _you_."  
  
Sagani snorted and caught the pillow with one hand. "That never stops _you_ , Tav."  
  
"She makes a very good point," Aloth said as he also sat up, running his fingers through his hair to gather it forward over one shoulder.  
  
"You're supposed t' be on my side!" Tavi grumbled, raking her fingers through her own hair and forcefully suppressing the urge to kiss him senseless for being so damn attractive this early in the morning. She settled for bumping her shoulder against his.  
  
"I am," Aloth countered. "Your bluntness is part of why I love you, remember?"  
  
Tavi's heart stuttered ever so slightly(which she'd always thought was a myth at best, vapid prose at worst) as she sat there grinning at Aloth until he raised an eyebrow in confused curiosity.  
  
"What?" he finally asked.  
  
"That's the first time you said the 'l' word, city slicker," Tavi informed him, reveling in Sagani's expression.  
  
"No it isn't," Aloth protested, frowning slightly as he bit his lip in thought. "After we fought off the ogres-"  
  
"You said I'd be the death of you," Tavi said, still grinning impishly. " _ **I**_ said _I love you, too_ , 'cause I knew that's what you meant."  
  
"Oh." His expression softened and he ran his fingers through his hair, absently twisting the ends. "I do, you know."  
  
"I know," she nodded, leaning over to steal a kiss. "And your tactfulness being part of why _I_ love _you_ is why I've gotten so good at readin' between the lines like that."  
  
"Good for you," Sagani interjected. "But if I hafta listen to my stomach growl one more time while you lovebirds are bein' all cute, I may commit murder. Help me wake the others so we can eat."  
  
"Dibs on waking Kana," Tavi said as she shoved down the covers and scrambled out of bed.  
  
"I'll take care of Pallegina," Aloth added, only half a second behind her.  
  
"Dammit," Sagani laughed ruefully, glancing at Hiravias' bed. "If he's feelin' grumpy, shifts, and eats me, Watcher, you get to explain to Kallu an' my kids."  
  
"Aw, c'mon, 'Gani," Tavi needled, already poking Kana's shoulder with one finger. "It's not gonna be that bad."  
  
It wasn't. Everyone was awake in short order and with minimal grumbling, and they set about planning their course of action as they ate. As she listened to Kana and Hiravias debate the virtues of camping versus returning to the inn at night, almost effortlessly pulling Sagani and Pallegina in as well, Tavi glanced at Aloth and silently hoped the rest of this adventure would work out as well as sleeping arrangements the previous night had. That wouldn't be so bad.

He caught her looking at him and smiled back.

_No,_ Tavi thought to herself. _Not bad at all._


End file.
